To celebrate the 4th of July I decided to make a red, white & blue cake.  This cake is a cross between a sponge and pound cake.  It’s airy, but a little dense too (if that makes sense!).  The icing is a vanilla buttercream; I make mine with half-n-half and I love the creamy taste that comes through.  I also don’t use a lot of sugar because I don’t want the sweetness to overpower the cake.  To go with the red, white & blue theme I used strawberries and blueberries!  This is a delicious, quick and easy cake to take to all your picnics this holiday…enjoy!
 
 

Ingredients are as follows:

 
batter:
1/2 C water
1/2 C butter
 
1 C sugar
1 C flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/4 C sour cream
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
 
icing:
1/2 C butter (no substitutes)
1/4 C half-n-half
1 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 C powdered sugar
 
blueberries
strawberries, diced 
 
 
Directions:
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease two round cake pans.
 
 
Bring water and butter to a boil then remove from heat.
 
 
 Stir in sugar, flour and salt.
 
 
Beat in egg, sour cream, baking soda and vanilla.
 
 
Pour into pans.  Bake for 14-16 minutes; until golden brown.     
 
 
While they’re cooling, slowly mix together the butter and half-n-half.
 
 
Add vanilla; slowly beat in the powdered sugar until thick & creamy.
 
 
Invert one (cooled) cake onto a plate and cover with half of the icing.
 
 
Arrange a layer of blueberries on top.
 
 
Invert the other cake on top and cover with the other half of the icing.
 
 
Arrange a layer of diced strawberries on top.
 
Then I put a few dollops of icing on top and placed a blueberry on each.
 
 

Slice, serve and enjoy!